NYLON - June 2008 - (Page 114) A LEAGUE OF HER OWN Missy Elliott has spent her entire career defying expectations, and her latest album, Fanomenal, doesn’t disappoint. By Fiorella Valdesolo Missy Elliott isn’t embarrassed to admit that her first production gig was for Cosby kid Raven Symone’s 1993 debut album. Actually, it happens to be one of her fondest memories. “I’m proud of all my producing efforts,” she says. “But the first couple were really a big thing for me. I always think it’s more challenging to do new artists, because you’re giving that artist a style and a sound.” Elliott’s subsequent success stories have been many, from Ciara to Mariah, Whitney to Janet, but she is most grateful for her chance to work, alongside longtime collaborator Timbaland, with the late Aaliyah. “Aaliyah was coming off such a great album [Age Ain’t Nothing But a Number],” Elliott says. “And when we first met it was almost like we came out of our mama’s womb together; we immediately connected. And me and Tim, we were no-name producers and writers at the time, and she allowed us to experiment with her.’” After the resounding success of One in a Million, they were, needless to say, no longer nobodies. Though Elliott may be a master behind the scenes, the stage is where her heart is. The Virginia-born rapper started her career in Sista, an R&B trio formed in 1990 with the hopes of becoming the female version of Jodeci. “We studied a lot,” remembers Elliott. “It was not just about having a great voice or being a great rapper. It was a package. You have to be a great performer, so we spent a lot of time trying to make sure we never lost the audience’s attention.” Elliott served as the group’s chief songwriter, a role she had been preparing for since childhood. “I was writing songs when I was a little kid,” she says. “They were silly, talking about insects and mice, but I thought they were great at the time. The songs I wrote in junior high had a bit more content, because I had a crush on a guy so I started singing songs about how I wanted to kiss him.” Elliott’s real life has always shaped her lyrics, a fact that has distanced her from those members of the hip-hop community whose style is decidedly more gangsta. “I have to be real with myself,” explains Elliott, “and rap about stuff that I see or do, as opposed to saying, ‘This is the formula of rap’ and ‘This is how you blow up,’ by saying that I shot this person or I took drugs, because I ain’t never did that. And I don’t want to start living that out… I’m a fun person so that’s how I write.” Her music has also always emphasized fun––there were elephant trumpets on “Work It,” video game sounds on “Lose Control,” and her latest single “Shake Ur Pom Pom” borrows a line from Snow White––as have her videos: “I’ve done everything from pulling my head off to being a superhero to hanging from chandeliers,” she chuckles. “What else is there for me to do?” The answer: Go 3-D, as she did in Fanomenal’s first video for the single “Ching-A-Ling.” It’s a music video first, but Elliott is someone who is used to constantly breaking new creative ground. That same innovation extends to each of Fanomenal’s tracks. The album, which has traces of funk, big band, and mambo, features the production efforts of Souldiggaz, Timbaland protégé Danja, Pharrell, and, of course, Timbaland himself. “Best Best” is a sexy, grinding groove; two of the already-released (on the Step Up 2 soundtrack) Timbaland-produced tracks, “Ching-A-Ling” and “Shake Ur Pom Pom” are high-energy, krunk-inflected jams; and “Hip Hop Don’t Die” is a drum-heavy old-school joint. With her seventh album, Elliott has managed yet again to avoid sounding even slightly derivative. Elliott is a singular sensation in hip-hop––her songs are positive and infused with a sense of humor; she can sing soulfully and spit rhymes with brute force; and her sexuality isn’t something she trades on. She always prefers to let her music, not her image, reel you in. Just as she has picked up the torch from the first generation of female rappers like Salt-n-Pepa, MC Lyte, Queen Latifah and Roxanne Shante, there are many new artists (Yo Majesty, M.I.A, and Kid Sister) who owe her a debt of gratitude. Indeed, Elliott credits her success with her determination to be original. “You can’t be a follower, and because this is the hot new sound, or this is the hot new look, go and do that same thing,” she says. “The way you create your own lane is to stand out and be different.” myspace.com / missyelliott Get your freak on—and your Missy ringtones—here. : Universal Pictures is producing a biopic on Elliott’s life. You may have a Pinto in your garage, but Elliott’s is crammed with a Lamborghini, a Phantom, and a Ferrari Her karaoke jam is Sheena Easton’s “Sugar Walls.” photographed by meeno peluce. http://myspace.com/missyelliott
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